This is a final research report from Hort Innovation’s historical archives. Please note that as these reports may date back as far as the 1990s, the content and recommendations within them may be superseded by more recent research.

What was it all about?

In 2002-03 approximately $4.5 million worth of horticultural projects funded through Hort Innovation (which was then Horticulture Australia Limited) included a biotechnology component. Biotechnology was a modern field of science that would underpin advances in all aspects of plant research and it was likely to deliver new knowledge, technologies and products in the future.

Horticulture Australia’s Biotechnology Program aimed to help Australian horticulture remain internationally competitive by:

• Fostering new pfartnerships between biotechnology laboratories and conventional breeding programs to deliver developments to industry
• Providing knowledge of plant processes and development
• Discovering new genes
• Discovering new gene technologies
• Generating new intellectual property to negotiate international horticultural research & development (R&D) alliances
• Encouraging investment in the area.

This booklet aimed to present a brief overview of gene technology in horticultural commodities in Australia and highlight examples of research underway. It also provided an overview of the science involved in gene technology, the regulation of gene technology in Australia, gene technology products in the market at the time, and what some industry groups were thinking in relation to the technology.

Gene technology in Australia: What’s happening in horticulture?, was produced by Agrifood Awareness Australia Limited with support from the then Horticulture Australia Limited.

Agrifood Awareness Australia Limited was an industry initiative, established to increase public awareness of, and encourage informed debate about, gene technology. Agrifood Awareness Australia Limited was committed to providing quality science-based information to encourage informed decision making.